The Liquid Measure of Your Steps
by Mia-Zeklos
Summary: Jack is desperately trying to ask Ianto on a date and is soon enough relieved to see that nothing can stand in the way of his plans. Valentine's Day fic.


**Author's Notes: A Valentine's Day fic from yours truly. Well, it's already the 14****th**** where I live, so I apologise if it's a bit early where you are.**

**References: Jack sending himself flowers was mentioned in the Torchwood Archives once and I decided I could play a little with that.**

**I hope you like it and, as always, feedback is appreciated!**

Jack looked up from his desk when he heard the proximity alarms activate and then smiled. Just in time. The others hadn't arrived yet, which meant that he had just the right amount of time to do what he wanted to, after two days of waiting.

He quickly went down the stairs from his office, not looking up until he was by his lover's side. "Hey, where have you been? I wanted to ask you– What the hell–"

Ianto's eyes appeared over the enormous bouquet of roses. "They're for Gwen."

Jack raised his eyebrows. "You're buying Gwen flowers for Valentine's Day?"

Ianto huffed a laugh. "They're from Rhys; arrived this morning."

"Isn't she still at home with him?"

"She is." Ianto sighed as he carefully placed the flowers on Gwen's workstation and tried not to damage any of them. "And people say romance is dead."

Jack gave a half-shrug and then a dramatic, wistful sigh. "And here I was, thinking you'd bought me flowers."

Without missing a beat, Ianto took a rose out of the bouquet and handed it to him. "There. Happy Valentine's Day!"

Jack was unimpressed and not afraid to show it. "People are right," he said with a shake of the head. "Romance_ is_ dead. But never mind that now. I wanted to ask you if you'd like–"

"Hey, guys!" The door opened again, this time to let Gwen in and Jack groaned. She seemed much more cheerful than she usually did first thing in the morning and her eyes lit up at the sight of the flowers. "Aw," she said with an affectionate smile. "Are those for me?"

Jack quickly hid the rose Ianto had taken out behind his back. "Uh-huh."

"They're great." She slid her fingers over one of the flowers in appreciation and then turned to Ianto. "Can you help me find a vase?"

"Sure!" And before Jack could protest, they had taken off.

Jack let out a small, frustrated sigh before turning away. He'd been meaning to arrange that date since yesterday morning, and things kept getting in the way. There would be a Rift alarm or one of the Weevils would escape or Tosh would require help from Ianto to fix her computer. As the day went on, the accidents only started to get more and more absurd and Jack was starting to think that Fate was having a real good laugh at his expense.

He didn't have anything big planned, really. He just had a friend who also happened to be the owner of one of the best restaurants in town. He'd called and said friend had agreed to reserve a more private table for two – given that most of Jack and Ianto's topics tended to revolve around aliens or anything related to them, the Captain had thought that they could use a bit of privacy. Jack had even gone to see it, and he knew that Ianto would love it. He was always excited to try new things and new places and the more luxurious it was, the better.

There was another issue, though: he had no idea how Ianto would react to the proposition itself. He wasn't big on the romantic stuff and most of Jack's gestures – ones that he'd seen as necessary rituals in dating – had been welcomed with deep, if masked, reluctance. So how could he be sure that he'd be up for a romantic dinner on Valentine's Day?

"Jack, have you stolen one of my roses?" He jumped when Gwen reappeared by his side and narrowed her eyes. "You have! I can't believe it." She glared at him and snatched it back. "Haven't you received your own?"

Jack returned the glare instead of a response. Why hadn't Ianto got him flowers, anyway? Tosh had received flowers last week too. Maybe he could send some to himself and then pretend he didn't know who they were from. And everyone would suspect Ianto, no matter how much he would deny it, so no one would know what he'd done.

Jack gave a small laugh at his own idea, then his face fell. Not for long, though; his despair was all of a sudden replaced by determination.

He was going to ask him. One way or another.

**o.O.o**

"You've called?" Ianto said, appearing at the door of his office. He looked a bit dishevelled and he'd lost his jacket somewhere along the way and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. There was a line of something that looked like motor oil over his forehead and he looked deeply troubled. Jack found it positively adorable.

"Yeah." Jack didn't even bother pointing at the chair on the opposite side of his desk and soon enough, Ianto sat down on the edge of the desk itself like he always did. "Is something wrong?"

"No, just– plenty of work." Ianto shrugged off his worries. Jack could see that well enough, and he sympathised with the feeling more than ever – it was half past four in the afternoon and they'd already managed to cancel the upcoming apocalypse twice. "Got a bit of a rest, though."

Jack made to speak, but Ianto paid him little mind and leant down for a kiss. He obliged him for a while; let himself enjoy the feel of those soft, full lips on his and those long fingers cupping his face. It was a heady combination and one he couldn't deny to himself despite the need to speak to him.

"Ianto," Jack pulled away, not without some difficulty because of his rebellious body. "I've got something to tell you."

Ianto's lips morphed into a pout that one looking as professional as he did should have been able to pull off. "Is it that important?"

Jack cleared his throat in a feeble attempt to focus. "Important, yes," he breathed out in the end, licking his lips impatiently as Ianto straddled his legs and, with a wicked little smile, buried his face in Jack's neck. Leave it to him to decide he was in the mood to play exactly when Jack was trying to be serious, the Captain thought desperately.

"What do you think of Valentine's Day?" he blurted out and Ianto stopped amidst the biting and licking over Jack's Adam's apple.

"As a..."

"As a holiday," Jack nodded. Ianto pulled back with a pensive look on his face.

"Lots of hearts," he said at last. "And lots of those weird pink stuffed poodles. Otherwise, nice. A holiday like any other."

"Okay." Jack tried to brace himself for what had to come. "Okay."

"Why, what is it?" Ianto asked. He hadn't bothered to get up and now, as Jack was surrounded by his warmth and his scent, it was hard to think of how much he'd fucked up the last time he'd tried to celebrate this particular holiday. It was made even worse by the fact that it had been nearly a decade before Ianto's birth. It made him feel even older than he was; that he just existed while Ianto raced through his own life, so eager and lively and so, so young that it almost hurt.

"It's nothing." Jack's voice was quiet as he looked up to meet Ianto's eyes. "I just– It's almost five o'clock. Have you got any plans for tonight?"

Ianto shook his head. "Not really."

"Good. How about that, then?" Jack gave him a lazy smile, giving him a coy glance from underneath his lashes and then brushed their lips together. "You, me, and a surprise destination? Pick you at seven?"

When he tried to pull away, Ianto leant over him to keep the kiss going on. "Dress code?" He purred. It was a common game between them; one of them setting up a plan for the date and the other playing along by hints. They'd started it as a habit after their first date as they both thought it more exciting.

"Black tie," Jack replied and felt Ianto smile in satisfaction against his lips.

"Just how I like it." Ianto broke the kiss. His smile was different now; less the cat-like seduction and more the toothy grin that Jack loved seeing so much. "You've got a deal, then. Can I leave now? I need time to get ready."

And that was that. No questions, no complications. Jack returned the smile. "Yes, you can go. Not without a proper goodbye, though."

Ianto's eyes slid closed as a small sound of contentment left his lips when Jack surged up to press a line of kisses down the curve of his neck. He kissed each of the freckles he found there and chuckled softly. "Skin stars," he whispered and felt Ianto squirm in his embrace. He got mightily embarrassed whenever Jack said that, which was why he delighted in repeating it as often as possible. Ianto's body was covered in freckles and he was always complaining when Jack pointed them out.

Just like now.

"Stop that," he said, pushing Jack away. "I need to go get ready." He stole another quick kiss and it was Jack's turn to be surprised by the normality of it and how comfortable his lover seemed to be right in this moment.

Ianto got up and left and Jack saw him pick up his jacket from the sofa on his way out, saying his goodbyes to his colleagues – Gwen had gone almost an hour ago, but Owen and Tosh were still wondering about. He stared after him, lost in thought.

_Not just existing, sometimes,_ he thought. Not with this man around.


End file.
